A complete electronic musical system should have both a means of composing professional music with little or no training, and a means of performing music, whether live or along with a previously recorded track, with little or no training, while still maintaining the highest levels of creativity and interaction in both composition and performance.
Methods of composing music on an electronic instrument are known, and may be classified in either of two ways: (1) a method in which automatic chord progressions are generated by depression of a key or keys (for example, Cotton Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,449,437), or by generating a suitable chord progression after a melody is given by a user (for example, Minamitaka, U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,153); (2) a method in which a plurality of note tables is used for MIDI note-identifying information, and is selected in response to a user command (for example, Hotz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,738); and (3) a method in which one-finger chords can be produced in real-time (for example, Aoki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,916).
The first method of composition involves generating pre-sequenced or preprogrammed accompaniment. This automatic method of composition lacks the creativity necessary to compose music with the freedom and expression of a trained musician. This method dictates a preprogrammed accompaniment without user selectable modifications in real-time, either during composition or performance.
The second method of composition involves the use of note tables to define each key as one or more preselected musical notes. This method of using tables of note-identifying information is unduly limited and does not provide the professional results, flexibility, and efficiency achieved by the present invention.
The present invention allows any and all needed performance notes and/or note groups to be generated on-the-fly, providing many advantages. Any note or group of notes can now be auto-corrected during performance according to a generated note or note group, thus preventing incorrect notes from playing over the various chord and/or scale changes. Generating note groups on-the-fly allows every possible combination of harmonies, non-scale note groups, scale note groups, combined scale note groups, chord groups, chord inversions/voicings, note ordering, note group setups, and instrument setups to be accessible at any time, using only the current trigger status message, and/or other current triggers described herein, such as those which can be used for experimentation with chord and/or scale changes. A user is not limited to pre-recorded tables of note identifying information. This allows any new part to be added at any time, and musical data can be transferred between various instruments for unlimited compatibility and flexibility during composition and/or performance. Since all data is generated on-the-fly, the database needed to implement the system is minimal. The present invention also allows musically-correct one-finger chords, as well as individual chord notes, to be triggered with fill expression from the chord progression section while providing a user with indicators for playing specific chord progressions, in a variety of song keys.
The third method of composition allows a user to trigger one-finger chords in real-time, thus allowing a user some creative control over which chord progression is actually formed. Although this method has the potential to become an adequate method of composition, it currently falls short in several aspects. There are five distinct needs which must be met, before a person with little or no musical training can effectively compose a complete piece of music with total creative control, just as a trained musician would. Any series of notes and/or note groups can be generated on-the-fly simultaneously, and provided to a user as needed, utilizing only one set of triggers. This allows for unlimited system flexibility during composition and/or performance:
(1) A means is needed for assigning a particular section of a musical instrument as a chord progression section in which individual chords and/or chord notes can be triggered in real-time with one or more fingers. Further, the instrument should provide a means for dividing this chord progression section into particular song keys, and providing indicators so that a user understands the predetermined song key and chord progression number and/or relative position. For example a song in the key of E Major defines a chord progression 1-4-5, as described more fully below.
Shimaya, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,966, teaches a designated chord progression section, but the chord progression section disclosed in Shimaya follows the chromatic progression of the keyboard, from C to B. Shimaya provides no allowance for dividing this chord progression section into particular song keys and scales. One of the most basic tools of a composer is the freedom to compose in a selected key. Another basic tool allows a musician to compose using specific chord progressions based on song key. As in the previous example, when composing a song in the key of E Major, the musician should be permitted to play a chord progression of 1-4-5-6-2-7-3, or any other progression chosen by the musician. The indicators provided by the present invention can also indicate relative positions in the customary scale and/or customary scale equivalent of a selected song key, thus eliminating the confusion between major song keys, and their relative minor equivalents.
In our culture's music, there are thousands of songs based on a simple 1-4-5 chord progression. Yet, most people with little or no musical training, and using known systems and methods, have no concept of the meaning of a musical key or a chord progression. The present invention also allows for the use of chromatics at the discretion of a user. The inexperienced composer who uses the present invention is made fully aware at all times of what he is actually playing, therefore allowing "non-scale" chromatic chords to be added by choice, not just added unknowingly.
(2) There also remains a need for a musical instrument that provides a user the option to play chords with one or more fingers in the chord progression section as previously described, while the individual notes of the currently triggered chord are simultaneously generated and made available for playing in separate fixed chord locations on the instrument. Individual notes can be sounded in different octaves when played. Regardless of the different chords which are being played in the chord progression section, the individual notes of each currently triggered chord can be generated and made available for playing in these same fixed chord location(s) on the instrument in real-time. The fundamental note and the alternate note of the chord can be made available in their own fixed locations for composing purposes, and chord notes can be reconfigured in any way in real-time for unlimited system flexibility.
This fixed chord location feature of the present invention allows a user with little or no musical training to properly compose a complete music piece. For example, by specifying this fixed chord location, and identifying or indicating the fundamental note and alternate note locations of each chord, a user can easily compose entire basslines, arpeggios, and specific chord harmonies with no musical training, while maintaining complete creative control.
(3) There also remains a need for a way to trigger chords with one or more fingers in the chord progression section, while scale notes and/or non-scale notes are simultaneously generated and made available for playing in separate fixed locations on the instrument. These scale notes and/or non-scale notes can also be played in different octaves. This method of generating scale and/or non-scale notes to be played from fixed locations on the instrument allows unlimited real-time system flexibility, during both composition and/or re-performance playback.
(4) There also remains a need for a way to trigger chords with one or more fingers in the chord progression section, while the entire chord is simultaneously generated and made available for playing from one or more keys in a separate fixed location, and can be sounded in different octaves when played. This feature allows a user to play right hand chords, inversions, the root position of a chord, and popular voicing of a chord at any time a user chooses and with dramatically reduced physical skill, yet retains the creativity and flexibility of a trained musician.
(5) Finally, there needs to be a means for adding to or modifying a composition once a basic progression and melody are decided upon and recorded by a user. A user with little or no musical training is thus able to add additional musically correct parts and/or non-scale parts to the composition, to remove portions of the composition that were previously recorded, or to simply modify the composition in accordance with the taste of the musician. The on-the-fly note generation methods of the present invention allows any note, series of notes, harmonies, note groups, chord voicings, inversions, instrument configurations, etc. to be accessible at any time by a user to achieve professional composition and/or re-performance results.
Techniques for automating the performance of music on an electronic instrument are also well known, and primarily involve the use of indication systems which display to a user the notes to play on the electronic instrument to achieve the desired performance. These techniques are primarily used as teaching aids of traditional music theory and performance (e.g., Shaffer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,266,735). These current methods provide high tech "cheat sheets". A user must follow along to an indication system and play all chords, notes, and scales just as a trained musician would. These methods do nothing to actually reduce the demanding physical skills required to perform the music.
There are three distinct needs which must be met before a person with little or no musical training can effectively perform music while maintaining the high level of creativity and interaction of a trained musician.
The first need involves performing music, such as melody lines, from a reduced number of keys in a fixed location. This technique dramatically reduces the amount of physical skill needed to perform music and/or melody lines. A user may perform a song at different skill levels. This allows an inexperienced user to play the melody of a song from a fixed location on the instrument without moving his hand. Additional notes, entire chords, and harmonies are also provided to allow a user to improvise just as a trained professional would, as well as for performance enhancement.
The second need involves playing all of the individual chord notes in a song's chord progression from a fixed location on the instrument. This dramatically reduces the amount of physical skill needed to perform music, while allowing a user total creative control in playing basslines, arpeggios, and chordal melodies from the fixed location.
The third need involves playing the entire chord in a song's chord progression with one or more keys from a fixed location on the instrument. This method also dramatically reduces the amount of physical skill needed to perform music, while still allowing a user total creative control in playing all inversions, chord voicings, and harmonies without moving his hand from the fixed chord location. The fixed location note generation methods of the present invention allow any previously recorded music to be played from a broad range of musical instruments, as well as with unlimited system flexibility due to all of the various notes, note groups, setup configurations, harmonies, etc. that are accessible to a user at any time.
It is a further object of the present invention to complete the system by allowing multiple instruments of the present invention to be effectively utilized together for interactive composition and/or performance among multiple users, with no need for knowledge of music theory, and while still maintaining the highest levels of creativity and flexibility that a trained musician would have. Users may perform together utilizing instruments connected directly into one other, connected through the use of an external processor or processors, connected over a network, or through various combinations of these.